alex huddled under blankets to keep the cold out in the smoke in. twenty one year old us a doula started smoking heroin at university six months later he dropped out and does what he can to support his habit. he is one of the million addicts in this country the world's largest producer of opium. as i said my life rizzo's their own this drug i know it's killing me but i can't stop any drug measures of diminished output but a hit only costs two dollars providing an escape for addicts ranging from refugees returning from iran who fled the country's civil war to military veterans to teenagers with little to look forward to. the united nations says it's another threat to afghanistan's long term economic growth and security. it's what we call the coca-cola effect i mean people always talk about the demand creating supply but people forget that supply demand and that's exactly happening in afghanistan i mean if you think about the health issues you think i mean a.t.v.'s often starting among

injecting drug use it has as well to do what you security i mean security forces and the high levels of addiction and security forces means that yes you will corrupt your security system so all those elements together means that there's a heavy burden for this country and with the limited resources available it's one mall of what they should not have within this country. local city that external and threaten them and the police do nothing more than chase them away or throw them in jail for a day or two then they come right back. today there are an estimated sixty thousand heroin addicts in the afghan capital and that number is rising fast many of them say they want help but the government can do little for them in the handful of rehabilitation clinics that existed just a few hundred beds to offer. the u.n. funding to judge sensors the largest and best equipped facility in the capital but that's not saying much it can only handle about sixty patients at

a time. to enter addicts must submit to a two months detoxification. but the center's director dr why dula has shown this is a lack of post treatment prospects ensure that over half of the patients fall off the wagon. and we just don't make. them without relapse is a huge problem there's not much we can offer these people once they leave here as a doula got ten days treatment before running away to get high again the international community is focusing on combating the flow of drugs leaving afghanistan but within its borders a battle just as important is being fought with addiction a major hurdle in the country's hope for future stability. jason in kabul for r.t. . russia's top anti-drug enforcer says if nato wants to stem the flow of opium from afghanistan it must hard at the drug lords at the top of the chain.

the size of the poppy plantations hasn't changed this year they still cover one hundred twenty three thousand is the number of families involved in pookie cultivation has increased by about food and for these peasants that provides the most basic living is simply struggling for survival and all the talk about the need to create economic incentives for them to simply pointless because they work as slaves for the land and these are the people we need to find them and we need to it's from the. international law a most national legal system. used for criminal purposes should be confiscated. mistake thirty one years ago mark the outbreak of the decades long war in afghanistan and you minute military contributor who fought in the country discusses how political standoff between cold war rivals spilled over into a decade. plus. take several hours to get from the nearest airport.

and as you can see still doesn't. far from the tourist areas and far from reality we take a look at what spoiled the idea of gambling zones in russia. first though a series of anti soviet cartoons have appeared in georgian newspapers the latest move in a campaign launched by president saakashvili a number of soviet monuments have already been dismantled across the country and schoolchildren have been obliged to watch a documentary likening the u.s.s.r. to nazi germany but as. many georgians are about their soviet past despite government attempts to wipe out the history. the destruction is savior monuments a law banning savior symbols and now an anticipated documentary and a series of cartoons. papers all part of an anti say that campaign currently being led by the cuban government that both the timing and methods of implementation have

led many to question its real. it's not just anti soviet propaganda but anti russian those conducting this campaign are trying to put russia on a par with the soviet union. it's been two decades since julian independence and just two years since children attacked so that's yet provoking an armed conflict with russia and history of tense relations and these recent events i thought likely to have a bearing on what's now happening. in a local newspaper the favorite general chieftain. with from this wide body part of the anti favor campaign has been a case of being anti russian and of encouraging the public like the bigger picture . but many georgians particularly the older generation of positive memories of

saving the time. and seeing what is a police officer in the save the union and jules harsh comparisons between the situation then and today we are we know. it was much better in retirement today in the soviet union we had professional unions protecting our rights today we have nobody to take care much for being poisoned with the ideology of the current authorities. for people like angrily the destruction of monuments dedicated to save his soldiers many of whom were themselves georgian is particularly inflammatory they had to sit by and watch as their memories of the past of a cheese to rubble. why do you think there's. mantled these monuments if you want us to forget our history but we should never forget. the government his name for his provoked his stance towards russia. the controversial campaign take me up perhaps a stat. that must be honest and true to fact not one

scientists. are equally guilty for the problems it doesn't make sense to china. but using comic books to facilitate this is appropriate i think the efforts of the government look silly. to strong emphasis on the negative aspects of the safety it might well see the present political agenda everyone inside georgia is happy we think government's actions. can always find more on this and all the stories we're covering on our web site r t v dot com here's a quick look at what's online for you right now. russia's president sums up the year's events in a t.v. interview find out what he had to say about his personal priorities corruption. of speech and war. and if you want to get married was something a little more sophisticated than eggnog this christmas are to you has the perfect

holiday rest. as christmas comes much for us media appears focused on whether or not the christian side of the holiday is being deliberately ignored but many americans say the so-called war on christmas issue is simply a distraction to divert public attention away from more serious problems or to dina goes off he takes a look. tis the season to be decided i'm just so enraged by these all these atheist displays in trying to push jesus to the back seat on christmas day but people like head humanist roy spec hard say they aren't trying to push jesus anywhere when they see these ads it does give them pause that it gives them a chance to think about the issues and the issues are plenty to wars record high

unemployment and a budget crisis approaching but apparently the real good or well that one atheist group is putting a new spin on the war on christmas if you listen to the media this is the truth word of trying to to take a shot at christmas they don't have any guts if they did so i said they go after the muslims. and the they he's referring to is the quote unquote other america the folks who want religion out of public life. to a real growth and on the opposite side of humanity now with all the political correctness here in the united states like the fact that you can't call it a christmas tree anymore you have to call a holiday tree you can't say merry christmas you have to say happy holidays some groups are taking action like this religious group here god and america's leaders dot com this is the web site they created you can log on and take a question want to pull choice quiz about which founding father or politician said it which really just quote but with all that outrage and all the back and forth

much of the quote unquote rest of america thinks things probable are politics right now we're focusing all these moral and religious issues instead of focusing on the actual things like the economy and wars and the like that is distractions but for those americans who want religion any time any place anywhere it isn't just a distraction there definitely has been a war on christmas for a long time and brian fisher is part of the countless conservative christian organizations that are formed to send this kind of message the single most inclusive thing that you can do this time of year is wish people a merry christmas we think it's appropriate. i asked them to leave knowledge that jesus christ is the reason for the season and the division is particularly evident in the most powerful of places case in point democrats were pushing to work overtime even after christmas and republicans like senator john kyl and jim de mint were pretty much calling the proposal blasphemous causing this kind of reaction you

need to rethink what does everybody call groups. that may choose the good news rethinking and perhaps considering that the real battle is much more serious. the. it's one that goes on all year around. this for r t d. six a law being purchased by the u.s. from russia more than a century ago is perhaps another thing that many americans are unaware of this christmas yet the place itself is alive with many memories of its previous settlers as we reveal in a special report. it's the secret incursion into the country. it's the invasion by means of. tradition the language. so that the best compete could be. culture.

the thing is that the have the dunes are still unaware of what's going on in their minds still asking what you. like. i don't know do you but alas the great game on are. introduced two years ago russia's gambling ban has been widely declared a failure the isolated locations of the four official gambling zones have meant that they have failed to live up to expectations now authorities are looking at shifting casinos closer to tourist areas to fight thriving illegal businesses blonsky reports. stacks of cash and roofs of one armed bandits federal security service agents breach and illegal casino in most to eighteen months ago gambling law meant casinos in russia could only exist in four special zooms but it failed then the show idea to build gambling zones far away from

residential areas just didn't work it takes several hours to get from the nearest airport to the casino in southern russia and as you can see the zone still doesn't look like gamblers paradise. the distance according to regional authorities almost killed the whole idea. of transportation is the key factor today we have a steady flow of gamblers coming to this casino enough to make the project worthwhile but that's not the zone's full capacity plus month russian president medvedev approved a war relocating the only functioning gambling zone in the russian south now the zone will be closer to tourist destinations we travel to the city of an up on the black sea coast which according to locals may very well become the new and hopefully more successful version of the russian vegas. in the winter time the place looks a bit depressing but are not as deputy mayor is certain that his city does have a potential for developing gambling industry in. the village obligations with its

one thousand hectares of vacant land is just five minutes away from the airport there is also a railway line and a highway passing through on the apa for resort hosting the gambling project there's a good opportunity to make on the up accessible the year around these fields have been prepared for a large scale construction by a peninsula with the yellow sanded beaches that attract thousands in the future golden sands gambling zone will also include a russian style theme park hotels shopping malls and restaurants authorities admit however that the news those will be war lists just like the old one unless the illegal casinos disappear and this may require more legislative work to stop because he knows from operating where they shouldn't be pushed the hammer was to push the point that you have come up with a proposal to introduce stricter punishment was the organizers of the underground gambling then this is so far almost one hundred percent of these individuals have been able to avoid something as punishment by disguising their businesses as

lottery clubs or internet cafes although there is still no deadline and the golden sands project is an especially stay just the regions of the ortiz are optimistic they are certain that it may take less than three years to build this new gamblers paradise on the black sea coast but with a huge and powerful underground gambling industry it's still unclear what the news will be the right bet for russia does a lot to keep our t.v. crossed in the region. this christmas marks thirty one years since the start of the soviet campaign in afghanistan the country was gripped by a civil war at the time the soviet intervention came as a shock to the u.s. and the subsequent campaign change the life of the country for decades to come or his military contributor job who fought in afghanistan looks back on how it all started the least expected guests and the christmas parties since nine hundred seventy nine while the summit spetznaz who commands the most successful special

forces operation. back on christmas night in one thousand nine hundred seventy nine ironically it was not only a smashing success for the joint. task force it was a tactical success for their opposite numbers back in langley christmas party was celebrated as the beginning of the new era of entrapping this soviet union in afghanistan as a way to revenge for the united states failure in vietnam and as the beginning of this so cold war otherwise known as the anti soviet jihad and the proxy war against the soviet union in afghanistan conducted by the united states and their allies it's really symbolic that there wilson's war of the war part one and part two of the current u.s. counterinsurgency both those stages of personalised by robert gates who used to be of the cia coordinator of the anti-submarine jihad in afghanistan race and in this

century presides over the pentagon in his new capacity merry christmas to you all who have been involved one way or another into the tragedy of afghanistan and its people. still to come this hour here on r.t. a way to escape the apocalypse. a few kilometers outside of moscow. an invention will say that the. party needs a russian engineers who offers an unusual means of salvation from the end of the world which some believe may be now i. taking a look first at some headlines from stories making headlines across the globe at least forty one people have been killed seventy injured in a suicide blast in northwest pakistan near the afghan border the explosion went off

outside the u.n. world food program office in the town of cars while local officials were waiting for supplies to be distributed the suicide bomber reportedly a woman who to hand grenades into the crowd then detonated an explosive belt he incident comes as pakistan army the pakistan the announced it had killed forty militants in a neighboring region. in germany five trains have been halted mid track due to harsh weather after power lines froze leaving hundreds of passengers in cold carriages for hours police reported that ice and thought had caused almost two thousand road accidents with a fifty one car pileup in the central part of the country heavy snow continues to cause havoc at airports across europe shortages of antifreeze have grounded flights at france's busiest international hub hundreds of passengers have been forced to celebrate christmas in airport terminals due to severe delays and cancellations. yeah every coast opposition leader has called on the country's army to protect

civilians against foreign mercenaries and militia although i'll assign a otara has been recognized as the winner of last month's disputed presidential race incumbent rod mago is refusing to step down lest african leaders threaten to use quote legitimate force to remove babo with the region central bank having cut off access to his fund one hundred seventy three people have died in post-election violence in the country. tens of thousands of pilgrims house emerged on bethlehem to celebrate christmas mass at the supposed birthplace of jesus the midnight mass led by the catholic church's top priest in the holy land is considered the peak of the festival venton town in china hundreds of christians crammed into a historic beijing cathedral while those who couldn't get in braved subzero temperatures to watch the festive mass on screens worldwide celebrations marking the end of christmas eve that leads into the christmas day holiday. and while the

world celebrates christmas some are more concerned with what they call impending armageddon one man who learned of the who learned of the threat from ancient texts has taken it on himself to guarantee humanity's survival and failing that his invention can always be turned into an eighty thousand dollars sauna r t zero good road never reports. ancient mayan calendar predicts that on twenty first of december twenty twelve the world will and. suffer cataclysmic events floods the option plates that will wipe out almost everyone but some are getting ready to survive the apocalypse a few kilometers outside of moscow on an abandoned battery farm and invention has been made which will save humanity when the end of the world does not i behold the doomsday capsule a military engineer by training. says he's a genius and that the large trajan collider controls the world whether he admits

that many lost when he showed us his proposal for the life capsule one year ago now he's built it he says people are taking him seriously yeah we can see kids got four layers of insulation you can float roll down here and learn upside down without being damaged. of course company can't be destroyed by trimming. all magnetic steams this is where the show will be and the air purification systems you can house not to fool people for forty days but it causes eighty thousand dollars to be king has recruited a band of neighbors have already booked their places in the capsule but i was i'm scared of twenty two out we have to be ready. yeah those are going to dying out we will survive. and of the end of the world doesn't come into years you get in he says his capsules can be used as saunders or industrial fridges and recommends that

the government orders several thousand immediately either there are no. more scary . stay with us here on our backs with the business update and for everybody celebrating a very merry christmas. hello welcome to the business program i'm sure on a key gas has announced gas price cuts of fifteen percent for estonia and lots of you should gas deliveries resume pre-crisis levels the gas giant stated that lafayette has already committed itself to increasing consumption to the levels of two thousand and seven prices for baltic neighbors lithuania and bella ruse however would not change gazprom said any discounts for these countries would only be discussed once existing contracts ended and new price formulas were calculated. and staying with gazprom the company has announced it will spend six point five billion dollars or one quarter of its investment program for two thousand and

eleven on the development of the amal peninsula refineries deposits situated in the northwest of siberia are considered to be the most lucrative in the country. and officials at russia's first liquefied natural gas projects say foreign investors can take part in its expansion the gov of holly in in the country as far east said shell could participate in the construction of subtlely in three l.n.g. plants as well as expand the wholly into shell sold a majority share in the project to gazprom several years ago but retains a blocking stake. let's take a look at the markets but my sex ended flat after closing marginally in the red on friday down just under a half percent and a fourteen straight week of gains the r.t.s. fared better finishing in the black point twenty three percent wrapping up a successful trading week trading volumes were light as investors prepared for the holidays. and russian markets hardly moved this week as investors were buying

gifts for christmas and new year rather than stocks maxime orlowski from wraps up the week. this week was relatively calm and that's mostly because the majority of the market players example large ones from europe and the u.s. on christmas holiday season barely changed as we would treat volumes very little but also global tildes one of the interesting events of this week was the disclosure of terms from the alleged merger between the needs which live with the start of this company. and positive price outlook for russian commodities including oil spills a continued appreciation of the russian ruble the head of the london school of economics believes that the russian ruble has strong prospects for becoming a hedge currency i think the ruble can be an interesting hedge against currencies but also for there to be a lot of russian traded internationally and russian equities traded internationally

because of the assets for people to buy to hold these massive reserves and i don't think at the moment there are enough assets for the ruble to become a very significant reserve currency. and that's all the business news for now but you can always join us for more news at r.t. dot com slash business stay with us.

from plans to. come. wealthy british style it's time to.

market. what's really happening to the global economy mike stronger the no holds barred look at the global financial headlines. two thirty pm in moscow good to have you with us here on our t.v. your headlights afghanistan's heroin is depriving thousands of locals of the future of both sides flooding other countries a desperate situation is a reflection of nato for efforts to tackle the problem says russia's top anti-drug enforcer. dismantling historic monuments to comic strip propaganda anti soviet campaign in georgia gathers steam with russia seemingly its

prime target but a growing number of people say authorities attempts to rewrite history are going to be fought. and reports of a war being arranged on christmas eve as have been all over the headlines in the u.s. this holiday season but many americans believe the hype is just to divert the public's attention from more pressing problems. explores ways to have a perfect christmas in the russian capital moscow coming your way next.